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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Plastic-Free February: Day 8

Preparing for Travel.

With a 2 Year Old. (But that isn't the point of this blog. I just thought I'd highlight it for sympathy.)

With this plastic-free challenge, I've quickly learned that I need to prepare in advance for most outings big and small. So I am gearing to travel back to Kansas next week with my 2 year old (without my partner - ack!). As there aren't any direct flights to KS from London, we're stuck with a 21 hour trip. (I bet you are seriously jealous right now.) :)

I've been doing research on how to travel without creating plastic waste. Because if you think about it - everything is wrapped in plastic on the airplane. The pillows, blankets, food, headphones, etc. I was just looking through one of the best blogs out there: http://myplasticfreelife.com/ -- you must check it out if you haven't done so already. Anyway, she has the best recommendations for air travel which include a number of options that would be perfect for Henry and me:

1. Bring our own mugs/cups - I always do this for the both of us. It's terrible to be caught without water with a child. However, I find that I buy bottled water half-way into the trip, but this time I will pledge to find a water fountain and fill up our cups that way.

2. Take along utensils - Again, I always do this for Henry (although they are plastic utensils but at least they are not single-use). It wouldn't be so hard to pop a fork into the bag for me as well.

3. Snacks and food are a Must - Most of what I take along is in pre-packaged plastic wrapping. I really hope to attempt to make some options ahead of time and buy in bulk if I can't.

4. Headphones - Henry and I both have our own headphones so I will definitely remember these.

5. Travel pillows - I didn't realize that the pillows were single-use! Will be purchasing Henry his own travel pillow today!

6. Personal care products - here's where you have to use a clear plastic baggy. I've kept mine as well for future use, phew.

Do you travel plastic-free? Any other recommendations out there?

(And if you're interested, I wrote a post on eco-air travel back in July at Greenwala.)

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